Republic Steel Produces First Heat at Ohio Furnace

Republic Steel, headquartered in Canton, Ohio, has initiated hot commissioning of its new electric arc furnace (EAF) in Lorain, Ohio. The initial heats, begun Nov. 26, 2013, were cast into 6-inch-by-6-inch billets and were rolled on the 9/10-inch rolling mill, also at the Lorain plant. Production on the billet caster is expected to ramp up over the next several months, with bloom cast production beginning in February 2014, the company says.

At full capacity Republic’s $85 million capital project will provide more than 1 million tons of steel per year to produce bloom and billet cast semi-finished, bar and coil products.

“This latest investment in Republic Steel demonstrates our commitment to exceeding our customer’s expectations, and satisfying both their current and future volume requirements,” says Jaime Vigil, Republic Steel president and CEO. “It is an exciting day for our Lorain plant, which discontinued steel production in December 2008 and is now back in the steelmaking business.”

The EAF will supply both the bloom and billet casters, enabling high-quality production of special bar quality bar and coil from 0.295-inch to 6.5-inches in diameter and 6-inch, 10.5-inch, 11.63-inch, 12.25-inch and 13.5-inch diameter seamless tube rounds.

Features of the EAF include a 150-ton heat size, eccentric bottom tapping, an exchangeable upper/lower shell, current-conducting arms, oxy-fuel burners, carbon and lime injection systems, a temperature/sampling system and level one and level two automation.

Major contracts for the project were awarded to SMS Concast for the EAF’s process equipment, Siemens for the yard substation and related equipment and TES for the furnace transformer.